


Scanner Ray

by Lieju



Category: Spirou et Fantasio
Genre: Drugs, Gen, mindfuckery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:46:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8014516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieju/pseuds/Lieju
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I took a random sentence from Scanner Darkly and based a S&F fic on it.</p><p> </p><p>What an undercover narcotics agent fears most is not that he will be shot or beaten up but that he will be slipped a great hit of some psychedelic that will roll on an endless horror feature film in his head for the remainder of his life, or that he will be shot up with a mex hit, half heroin and half substance D, or both of the above plus a poison such as strychnine, which will nearly kill him but not completely, so that the above can occur: lifelong addiction, lifelong horror film.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scanner Ray

 

What an undercover narcotics agent fears most is not that he will be shot or beaten up but that he will be slipped a great hit of some psychedelic that will roll on an endless horror feature film in his head for the remainder of his life, or that he will be shot up with a mex hit, half heroin and half substance D, or both of the above plus a poison such as strychnine, which will nearly kill him but not completely, so that the above can occur: lifelong addiction, lifelong horror film.  
  
Spirou can’t quite remember where he read that from. Sometimes he thinks it was something he heard when he was very little, maybe it had been advice from his father. Sometimes he hung onto those words, imagining they were the last link to his long lost parents. Who knows, maybe he had become an adventurer to follow on their foot steps. It felt like a link to something in the past, in any case.

 

And sometimes, when he faced off with Zorglub and his mind-control rays, it felt like something even more relevant. When every inch of his body was frozen by the Zorgbeam, and he was trapped in this personal hell, it felt like this had been foretold.

 

He decides to ignore these feelings.

 

It isn't until God starts to talk to him through his TV that he starts to question things.

 

"Spirou."

 

Spirou turns around, trying to find the source of the electronic voice. Finally he spots the television. And a black and white image of a man. There is something very wrong with the image, like his proportions are too unnatural. His eyes and nose is small, as are his head and hands compared to his body.

 

Before Spirou can speak, he continues. "My name is Andr _é_ Franquin. I made you."

 

Spirou simply stares at the screen.

 

"Well, that is not quite right, I never really considered myself your father, an adopted father at the very least, but what you're gonna do... And I'm responsible of many things that happened to you, of people you met, the adventures you had."

 

"Why are you telling me this? What kind of a practical joke is this?"

 

Without warning, the television goes dark. This is the first time Spirou starts to doubt his perception of reality.

 

...

 

Years pass. Or do they really? Things happen, and sometimes it becomes so hard to tell reality from dreams. Who is Miss Flanner? Was Seccotine her friends' real name? Was he in love with her? Was he married once to someone, abandoning Fantasio? Was he alive during the second World War? Has he ever travelled through time?

 

And lately... Had he ever really been friends with Fantasio at all?

 

...

 

Spirou opens his eyes, woken up by the voice coming from the radio.

 

"I'm sorry, I feel like we should talk."

 

"Franquin?"

 

The man lets out a laugh. "I wish. My name is Vehlmann. I'm responsible for you now. Well there are others, but me and Yoann will take good care of you."

 

Spirou sits up in his bed. "What?"

 

"I just thought I should give you a little heads up, we're gonna send you on an adventure to find the marsupilami-"

 

Spirou frowns at the mention of that creature. Just one more vague memory that does not fit anywhere.

 

"-and we'll try to avoid messing up the continuity as best we can, just wanted to tell you that, I'm really excited over this. Keep up the good work."

 

...

 

Spirou sits across Zantafio, his worst enemy, wondering where Fantasio has disappeared to. And whether he cares. Not caring about Fantasio anymore feels like one of the worst things about this.

 

He watches Zantafio pulling out the vial of clear liquid. Spirou watches as the older man shoots up.

Zantafio lets out a sigh. "It really clears up your mind, doesn't it?"

 

Spirou frowns. "Isn't the effect the complete opposite?"

 

Zantafio looks him into the eye. "Sometimes I can even hear them. On the TV quite often, special messages. You have heard them too, right?"

 

"I don't!"

 

Zantafio sighs. "How much have they told you? I never hear Morvan anymore, not sure if I prefer Vehlmann to him, not sure if he appreciates or pities me..."

 

Spirou does, of course, recognize those names. "Who are they?"

 

Zantafio grins. "Don't tell me you haven't figured them out? They're the people who write our adventures. And draw us. We're nothing more than comic book characters. We all are, but some of us are aware."

 

He gestures to his vial. "I didn't believe it at first but more I use this the more I understand it."

 

Before Spirou can find a way to respond, Zantafio pulls out a gun, and everything goes black.

 

 

...

 

Spirou floats somewhere between reality and unconsciousness. He can barely feel something around his arms, restraining him. And vague voices, like Zantafio and Fantasio talking....

 

"Ren _ é?" _

 

_ That voice, however, seems to come from inside of his mind. _

 

_ _What?_ _ _ Spirou thinks. He doesn't recognize the voice. _

 

_ "Can you hear me, René? I'm your doctor, Doctor Jacobs." _

 

_ _My name is Spirou._ _

 

_ "It's as I feared. No, your name is René Velter. You were working as an undercover narcotics agent, but got caught and injected with heroin and substance D, and you fell into a coma. For some time we thought you were brain dead but recently we observed some activity and hypothesized you were trapped into some kind of hallucination." _

 

_ _I'm not anyone called Velter, I'm Spirou._ _

 

_ "Interesting, you have assumed the identity of you favourite childhood hero... And of course, your son has been coming to read the new comics to you." _

 

_ _Son?_ _

 

_ "Listen, Mister Velter, the scans of your brain waves tells us this is our chance. You can break free of this. Try to focus on your family, your wife, your son!" _

 

_ _Zantafio told me I'm a fictional character. And I have been... I believed him._ _

 

_ "Listen, this is important. We don't know if you can wake up, but you can try- just choos-" _

 

_ The voice cuts off. _

 

_ He thinks of everything he remembers, who he is. _

 

_ What is true. _

 

_ Even if he is simply a comic book character, would he still be happy? Would it still be his life? _

 

_ He makes his decision and opens his eyes. _

 


End file.
